I am a Visionary

I am an Idealist

Meet the Leaders

Meet the Leaders

Whether in their own firms or in their communities, these young people are leading the charge toward innovation in financial planning, bringing new opportunities to advisers and clients alike. Here, they share the best leadership advice they’ve received in their careers.

Meet the Trailblazers

Meet the Trailblazers

This group doesn’t subscribe to groupthink. They are spearheading new ways of practicing and delivering financial advice — in some cases reaching populations previously considered unprofitable to serve. We ask them about the most unique and unusual ideas they’ve had.

Meet the Entrepreneurs

Meet the Entrepreneurs

In addition to helping clients reach their financial goals, some in the advice industry face the challenge of running a business or a team. Others have started companies to support this pursuit. These young people are flourishing amid the balancing act — and some got an early start.

Meet the Visionaries

Meet the Visionaries

It’s not about what is, but what will be — and what can be — the future of the financial planning industry for this group of forward-looking advisers, educators and executives. Their insights pull the rest of the profession into the next stratum.

Meet the Idealists

Meet the Idealists

Life experiences shape our ideals, especially for these young professionals who see challenges in the advice industry and the world — and set out to meet them. They also have words of wisdom for the next generation.

About Ryan

The third-generation scion of one of the leading families of the independent broker-dealer industry, Ryan Diachok knows what it's like to start at the bottom rung of the family business.

Promoted this year to president of Geneos Wealth Management Inc., Mr. Diachok in 1999 started in the mailroom of the family's previous broker-dealer, Multi-Financial Securities Corp., which was sold to ING in the 1990s and is now part of Cetera Financial Group.

"As cliché as that sounds, that's what I did. And then I worked eventually in every department: operations, trading, compliance, marketing," he said. "I really enjoyed the business right from the beginning — learning what we did and how it was done."

His grandfather, George, a longtime favorite among old-timers at industry meetings, started Multi-Financial in the 1980s, and his uncle, Russ, eventually took over that firm. The family and a core of loyal employees left in 2002 to begin Geneos, which has seen solid growth during a decade of market turmoil. Dozens of Geneos' IBD competitors have been wiped out due to bad investments and poor due diligence.

Geneos currently has 260 affiliated registered reps and posted $104.6 million in total revenue last year. Reps and employees also own shares of the company, with George Diachok, now 88, and Russ Diachok controlling the largest amount.

Ryan Diachok is proud of his family's legacy of being leaders in the independent broker-dealer business. He combines the old school hands-on approach when listening to advisers and potential recruits, but the Diachok family is not shy about innovation. The family also operates a software company and leases their product to other broker-dealers.

The IBD industry "is in my blood, and we have put ourselves in a good niche and focusing on higher-producing, quality advisers," he said. "It's a tight-margin business, but if you have the right people, technology and processes, you can run this business profitably."